Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 344 Wolf Slayer
Just as Xia Mingyue was in a panic, Wang Chengpeng suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Despite the significant blood loss, his hands remained warm and strong.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Just as Wang Chengpeng finished speaking, several familiar dog barks came from afar.

Wang Chengpeng's eyes lit up immediately, and he shouted loudly:
"Little Black, Little Gold, I'm over here!"

Wang Chengpeng's whistle-blowing before the battle did work, summoning the belated reinforcements.

Although the battle was over, they had no problem helping to clean up the battlefield.

Thinking of this, Wang Chengpeng breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that the wolves had been scared out of their wits by him, so how could they dare to come back?

Sure enough, as the barking approached, the two figures in the distance gradually became clearer. Who else could it be but Zhu Hong and his two companions, Xiao Hei and Xiao Jin?

"Brother Wang, what are you and Xia Zhiqing doing standing here?"

"I knew it! Little Black and Little Gold seemed to be following orders. Turns out they were summoned by you."

"I heard some wolf howls when I came here. Your family was worried about you, but I think they were just worrying for nothing."

"My brother is incredibly strong; how could those little wolf cubs possibly handle him?"

Zhu Hong was inside the house, and Wang Chengpeng's house was well-built with good sound insulation, so he ultimately didn't hear Wang Chengpeng's dog whistle.

Fortunately, Xiao Jin and Xiao Hei were still on night watch, and they immediately alerted Zhu Hong upon hearing the dog whistle.

Coupled with the distant howling of wolves, Zhu Hong naturally led his dog and came over immediately with his hunting rifle.

However, because he didn't have a bicycle, he arrived a little slower than he had expected.

Wang Chengpeng: ...? ? ?
He felt that the last bit of strength he had left in his body was almost gone from laughing in anger at Zhu Hong's words, and immediately retorted irritably:
"Can't you see what's going on around you? Hurry up and come help!"

"Look at me covered in wounds. What do you think Xia Zhiqing and I are doing standing here? Of course, we're treating our wounds."

"By the way, could you help Xia Zhiqing take off her coat first?"

"She used all her clothes to bandage me up. If I get frostbite any longer, I'll get a fever."

Hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, and with Zhu Hong getting even closer, he realized that things weren't quite as he had imagined.

Without hesitation, he draped his coat over Xia Mingyue's shoulders.

It was thanks to the warmth of this coat that Xia Mingyue felt a little better.

Taking off two layers of clothing in the dead of winter was quite a challenge for her.

Looking at the seriously injured Wang Chengpeng, Zhu Hong scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Brother Wang, I'm sorry, I was standing far away just now, so I didn't see it clearly."

"But judging from the way you're speaking with such a strong voice, it probably isn't anything serious."

"Look at the bandages on your body, the bleeding has stopped, it seems I was right."

Only after Zhu Hong reminded her did Xia Mingyue realize that the bleeding on Wang Chengpeng's body had indeed stopped, and she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Wang Chengpeng didn't feel that there was anything seriously wrong with him, and instead of urging Zhu Hong to take him to the hospital, he quickly started arranging for the cleanup of the scene:

“Xia, don’t just stand there. Zhu Hong is here now, and we’re safe. Quickly put away your pistol and the bullets you’ve fired.”

In this day and age, possessing firearms is a serious crime, and you could easily get yourself into serious trouble.

At this point, Wang Chengpeng then instructed Zhu Hong:
“Take your shotgun and fire another shot at the spot where Xia Zhiqing fired. It might seem like you’re trying to cover it up, but it’s better than doing nothing.”

To everyone's surprise, Xia Mingyue showed no intention of moving. Instead, she looked anxiously at Wang Chengpeng and said:
"We can talk about these things later. Right now, the most important thing is your injury. I'll take you to the hospital with Zhu Hong right away."

Faced with Xia Mingyue's concern, Wang Chengpeng simply waved his hand dismissively and said:

“Xia Zhiqing, I know my body. My injuries aren’t as serious as you think.”

"On the contrary, if you don't deal with this bullet, you're really going to get into big trouble."

"As for taking me to the hospital, you don't need to trouble yourself. Just have Xiao Hei go back and ask my dad to come and help."

"As for Little Gold, keeping it around to help you find bullets will be quite efficient."

"Although we have nothing improper between us and there is nothing ambiguous between us, if you really take me to the hospital in the middle of the night, it will be hard to explain."

For some reason, even though it was for her own good, Xia Mingyue's eyes dimmed instantly when she heard Wang Chengpeng say that there was no ambiguity between the two of them.

Before Xia Mingyue could grieve for long, she heard Wang Chengpeng say in a slightly hoarse voice:
“Xia Zhiqing, the way you fired the gun earlier… was particularly beautiful…”

Under the moonlight, Xia Mingyue felt something warm brush against her cheek.

She couldn't tell if it was sweat or tears; all she knew was that her heart was beating incredibly fast.

Confused and disoriented, Xia Mingyue ignored the blush on her face and dared not stay by Wang Chengpeng's side any longer. After carefully putting Wang Chengpeng down, she had no choice but to collect the bullets as he instructed.

She suddenly realized that Zhu Hong was right. Judging from Wang Chengpeng's strong voice and the fact that he could joke with her, he was definitely not seriously injured.

But... how could he joke like that with me...?
Searching for bullets in the wilderness is an extremely difficult task. Fortunately, Xiao Jin has a keen sense of smell, and after a while, he managed to collect all the bullets.

Shortly after Zhu Hong finished off the enemy, Xiao Jin let out a few barks.

Wang Chengpeng and Zhu Hong, who were familiar with it, immediately knew that this was a signal that someone was approaching.

Clearly, the commotion had attracted the attention of the militia, who were about to head to Wang Chengpeng's location.

Frowning, Wang Chengpeng looked at Xia Mingyue and quickly gave the order:

"Xia, thank you for saving me."

"But the village militia will be here soon, so you have to leave first. Staying here would be difficult to explain."

"Don't worry, there are so many people here, I'll definitely be fine."

Seeing Xia Mingyue's hesitant expression, Wang Chengpeng finally hardened his heart and shouted:

"Xia Zhiqing, are you staying because you can't bear to give up the credit for killing the wolf, or do you want to cause me more trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyue's hesitation vanished completely, replaced by determination. She naturally didn't believe Wang Chengpeng's true feelings; she knew it was merely a tactic to persuade her to leave.

But Wang Chengpeng was right; staying would only cause him more trouble.

If he doesn't want to have anything to do with me at all...

As if in a fit of pique, Xia Mingyue rode her bicycle very fast and soon disappeared into the night.

On the other side, the noisy footsteps were getting closer and closer.

Under the light of the flashlight, six comrades in militia uniforms quickly emerged from the darkness. The leader was Wang Hai, the militia captain of Wangjia Village.

At first, Wang Hai didn't pay much attention when he heard the wolf howling.

Everyone knows that winter nights are the most dangerous, so people generally don't wander around outside.

Even if there are wolf packs, as long as they stay at home and don't come out, those wolves will still be helpless against the high walls and gates built by humans.

That's why Wang Hai didn't bring the militia over immediately.

However, everything changed after he heard faint gunshots, which undoubtedly indicated that there were people where the wolf pack was.

Even though he was brave, he didn't dare to face the wolf pack alone. He only dared to approach the place where the wolf howls came after he called five militiamen as helpers and they all brought hunting rifles.

But along the way,
Smelling the blood in the air and looking at the wolf carcasses lying haphazardly on the ground, Wang Hai and his companions were deeply shocked.

The number of wolves was far greater than they had imagined, and the battle was far more brutal than they had anticipated.

If the wolf pack suffered such heavy losses, how dangerous must it be for those who fought against them?
Thinking this, Wang Hai moved forward faster and faster. He couldn't wait to join the battle against the wolves and rescue the people trapped by them.

But when they saw the two people sitting next to the wolf king's corpse, all the sounds turned into gasps of shock.

Wang Hai crouched down to examine the wolf king's carcass, his eyes filled with disbelief and awe as he looked up at Wang Chengpeng:
"Comrade Wang, you two... single-handedly wiped out the entire wolf pack?"

Wang Chengpeng silenced Zhu Hong's lips with a look, and explained sheepishly:

"How can the two of us possibly wipe out the entire wolf pack?"

Just as Wang Hai was congratulating himself on the fact that others had indeed helped him to accomplish such an outrageous feat, he heard Wang Chengpeng's leisurely voice:
"We were really short-handed, and several of the wolves escaped. I am so ashamed."

Wang Hai: ...? ? ?
He felt that people could no longer have a proper conversation with each other.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Hai managed to calm his shock and said with concern:

"Comrade Wang, although your feat of slaying the wolf is amazing, your health is more important."

"You're injured like this, I'll send someone to take you to the hospital right away."

At this point, Wang Hai looked at the mess on the ground again and said:

"Don't worry, all the credit for killing these wolves is yours, and I won't take a single penny from you."

Although Xiao Hei had been sent to inform his father, the other party was clearly not in time.

Furthermore, although Wang Chengpeng was strong and healthy, he was still somewhat dizzy due to significant blood loss, so he immediately agreed to Wang Hai's suggestion, saying:
"Of course I'm not worried that Captain Wang will embezzle my credit."

"In that case, I would like to trouble Captain Wang to send a militia member to accompany Zhu Hong to the town hospital."

"By the way, if you see my father coming looking for me later, please tell him that everything is fine, I only suffered some minor injuries and will be back soon."

Looking at the exaggerated bandages on Wang Chengpeng's body, Wang Hai was speechless. Since when can this kind of injury be called a superficial wound?
He also really admired Wang Chengpeng. Despite being so badly injured, he didn't utter a single groan and continued to chat and laugh with him.

Perhaps because he had been observing for a long time, Wang Hai clearly noticed some differences.

First of all, there's the bandage used to bandage Wang Chengpeng's body. At first glance, it might not seem like anything wrong, but upon closer inspection, the pattern is clearly the same as what women wear.

This is just one of the problems. Despite fighting together, Zhu Hong was not even scratched except for his jacket. It's hard to believe that he once fought alongside Wang Chengpeng.

It seems there's a hidden story tonight, and it's very likely that it involves another woman.

If it were anyone else, Wang Hai would definitely pursue the matter to the end.

However, the person in front of him was Wang Chengpeng, someone whom Wang Fucheng, Wang Zhong, and Wang Yong had all specifically instructed to take good care of, and whose reputation was extremely excellent. In the end, Wang Hai gave up his plan to investigate further.

Being able to hunt so many wolves not only rid the village of a menace and made Wangjia Village much safer, but the wolf carcasses alone were worth a lot of money, which would be a considerable income per person.

If he were to delve too deeply into any other matter, he would be truly lacking in social skills and understanding.

After watching Wang Chengpeng leave, Wang Hai finally had time to carefully examine the marks on the ground.

When he arrived, he didn't have time to carefully examine the traces at the scene in order to ensure the safety of the villagers.

But when he saw it, he froze on the spot.

Hearing the gunshots, he initially thought the wolves had been shot dead, but upon closer inspection, he realized that was not the case at all.

Not to mention the wolf king's completely crooked neck, his head, which looked as if it had been smashed by a blunt object and deformed, showed no trace of being shot.

Perhaps due to being too shocked, Wang Hai subconsciously shouted out:
"That's ruthless. Just how fierce and ruthless must one be to smash a wolf's head like that?"

There weren't any suitable clubs nearby, meaning the wolf king's head injury was most likely inflicted by repeated punches.

This can only be described as brutal.

After Wang Hai's reminder, the other militiamen were also shocked, wondering how such terrible injuries could have been caused.

However, this was only the beginning of their shock, and certainly not the end.

They soon discovered that not only the wolf king, but also the other wolves were covered in various marks of being brutally beaten.

Is this really the fighting power that humans can possess?
This question lingered in Wang Hai's mind and he couldn't shake it off for a long time.

However, just as Wang Hai was deep in thought, he heard a startled exclamation beside him:
"Captain Wang, there's a situation here."

“Look at the wounds on this wolf. They look really strange and don’t look like they were caused by a hunting rifle.”

(End of this chapter)